kid’s health

Yesterday I wrote a post about my 5 Best Probiotics For Adults. Feel free to check that post out too since it has a lot of good general information about probiotics. Today I am going to review what I consider to be 4 of the best probiotics for kids.

This post contains affiliate links. That means if you click on a link to a product, I may receive, at no extra cost to you, a small commission when you make a purchase. Thank you for your support.

Selection Criteria: What To Look For

The main 3 pieces of information that I look for when I compare probiotics for kids are:

Number of Billions of CFU (colony forming units): For kids, the appropriate number of CFU is considerably less than for adults. 0.5 – 3 Billion is appropriate for children from what I have researched.

Is refrigeration is required? I prefer to keep all of my kid’s supplements on the same shelf, so I would prefer not to have to refrigerate their daily probiotics.

Cost: There are many good quality kid’s supplements available for 15-30 cents per serving.

Nature’s Way Primadophilus for Children

This product is a powder which can be mixed in with breastmilk, milk, applesauce or yogurt for a child of any age. The label says for ages 2 and under to consult a health professional, which is typical for all of the products I will be reviewing.

Nature’s Plus – Animal Parade Acidophikidz

This is a chewable tablet. My kids haven’t tried this particular product, but they have taken other chewable supplements by Nature’s Plus Animal Parade. My daughter will eat Animal Parade chewables, but my son won’t anymore. He says he doesn’t like the texture.

So What Should You Choose?

Given the way the pricing comes out, I recommend seeing if your kid will take the Nature’s Plus – Animal Parade Acidophikidz first. Since one of my kids won’t take that one, I’m satisfied with what they are getting from the Rainbow Light Probiolicious Gummies. These are also the two products that don’t require refrigeration, which is my preference.

The Nature’s Way products are high quality though and definitely higher-potency. So if your child has any digestive issues or is taking antibiotics, I would see if one of those two works better for you. I use the powder when my kids are under age two and needed to take antibiotics. I really don’t worry about giving probiotics to my kids when they are younger than age two otherwise.

Do your kids take a probiotic supplement? If so, please let me know about your experiences in the comments below.

Amanda is the founder of Survival With Kids. She is the mother of 4 kids (two boys and two girls). She became a brain cancer widow in April of 2017 at the age of 32. She writes about surviving and preparing for unexpected events.

This post contains affiliate links. That means if you click on a link to a product, I may receive, at no extra cost to you, a small commission when you make a purchase. Thank you for your support.

As I mentioned in my post on Ear Infections, I like to use Acetaminophen occasionally to help keep noses running and to keep them from becoming a stuffy nose (which can lead to ear infections).

If you check out the children’s pain relief section of your local pharmacy, you will probably see three choices in the infant pain relievers: Infants’ TYLENOL® Oral Suspension, Little Remedies® Infant Fever/Pain Reliever and a store brand version (I will use CVS Infants Pain Relief Liquid – Cherry as my example, but ingredients do vary somewhat among store brands).

Ingredients: Some Better Than Others

All three products will have the same active ingredient: Acetaminophen 160 mg in each 5 mL. The differences become apparent when you compare the inactive ingredients.

As you can see, there are quite a few similarities between the Tylenol version and the CVS brand version. There are also quite a few differences between the two and the Little Remedies version. The two main differences are in the sweeteners and the food coloring.

Sweeteners: Please Not High Fructose Corn Syrup

The Tylenol product has both high fructose corn syrup and sucralose. The Little Remedies product has both sucralose and sucrose. The CVS product uses only High Fructose Corn Syrup.

The dangers of High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) are heavily debated. Many sources indicate, such as this one from Huffington Post, that our bodies do not process HFCS the same was as table sugar which can lead to an increase in diabetes.

I don’t know if there is enough HFCS in a dose of Acetaminophen to make a huge difference, but I feel there is compelling enough evidence to try to avoid as much HFCS as possible. Therefore if there is an alternative product that does not contain HFCS, that will generally be my preference.

I am not thrilled that the Little Remedies product has sucralose in it as newer studies are showing it as being less and less safe, but I have yet to find an infant Acetaminophen that only has sucrose (or normal table sugar) as the only ingredient. If you know of one, please let me know in the comments section below.

Artifical Food Coloring / Dye: Color Me Purple

Both the Tylenol product and the CVS product have artificial food coloring. When you look at the liquid, it will be either purple (grape) or pink (cherry). One of the most readily observable concerns with artificial colors, especially Red #40, is that it seems to cause hyperactivity in children. The concerns are described in more detail on this page by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, but I have observed this effect in my own children as well as in other children.

Little Remedies is artificial color / dye free. The color of the liquid itself is a faint beige color. The additional benefit of not having any dye is that when your kid dribbles a little bit out, that it doesn’t stain the clothes.

So What Do I Recommend

So despite a few misgivings about the sucralose, I currently recommend and use Little Remedies Acetaminophen.

The 2 oz. Infant version comes with a syringe dispenser. The 4 oz. Children’s version comes with a cup, but still has the syringe accepting lid. So if you have kids young enough that you need the syringe, I recommend that you get the infant version the first time, keep the syringe, and get the large bottle Children’s version the next time. It has the same active ingredient of Acetaminophen 160 mg in each 5 mL.

I have included amazon.com ‘shop now’ boxes with current pricing for both products to the right. The Infant version is the image on the top and the Children’s version is the image on the bottom.

For additional savings per oz. on the infant version, there is a two pack available through the same infant product link. However once you have the syringe, you can see that there is definite cost savings by using the Children’s version. For additional savings, the Children’s version is available via Amazon Subscribe and Save for an additional 5-15% off.

If you decide to buy from amazon, please buy by clicking on one of my affiliate links. Thanks!

Amanda is the founder of Survival With Kids. She is the mother of 4 kids (two boys and two girls). She became a brain cancer widow in April of 2017 at the age of 32. She writes about surviving and preparing for unexpected events.

Important Information

Follow Me Socially

Disclaimer

SurvivalWithKids.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.